Rockets-Magic Preview

By NOEY KUPCHANPosted Feb 28 2013 6:30PM

The Houston Rockets are looking to put a couple of disappointing losses behind them.

Doing so, however, could prove more difficult than usual with their star-studded backcourt banged up.

James Harden and Jeremy Lin are considered game-time decisions for Friday night's road matchup against the woeful Orlando Magic.

The Rockets (31-28) blew 17-point leads in each of their last two games, falling 105-103 at Washington on Saturday and 110-107 to Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Harden scored 25 points and Omer Asik had 16 and a career-high 22 rebounds against the Bucks, who won on Monta Ellis' 3-pointer as time expired.

"It was a bad loss," said Chandler Parsons, who added 20 points. "There is no way around it. There is no way we should have lost that game. These are the ones you look back on and these are the ones that cost you so you can't do nothing else now. It is what it is so hopefully we learn as a team and get better from it."

Wednesday's defeat may have also come at a cost. Harden played with a wrap on his left knee after bumping into Ellis in the first half, and Lin twisted an ankle. The Rockets, who continue to cling to the eighth and final playoff berth in the Western Conference, held both players out of Thursday's practice.

"If we took care of business, we could be the seventh or sixth seed right now, and we're not," said Lin, averaging 8.0 points on 32.3 percent shooting over the last three games. "So that really hurts, and we can't expect that other teams are going to give us a chance to climb up the rankings, we have to go do it ourselves."

The Rockets are one-half game behind seventh-place Utah and just a few in front of the ninth-place Los Angeles Lakers.

"We need to focus on the Magic on Friday night," Parsons said. "We can't look ahead, we can't keep looking at the standings. Who cares about the Lakers?

"We control our own destiny right now. So I don't really care what they're doing or who they play as long as we focus on who we're playing."

While Houston has been outscored by an average of 14.2 points during a five-game skid versus Orlando (16-42), these teams haven't met since Dec. 26, 2011.

The Magic, who've gone an NBA-worst 4-29 since Dec. 21, followed Tuesday's 98-84 win at Philadelphia with a 125-101 loss to Sacramento on Wednesday. The Kings shot 54.8 percent and outscored Orlando 56-44 in the paint and 25-8 in transition.

Tobias Harris had a career-high 23 points off the bench while fellow newcomer Beno Udrih posted 14 and eight assists. Both players were acquired from Milwaukee in the J.J. Redick trade.

"Maybe we played hard, but they played harder," Udrih told the team's official website. "We have a lot of talent and potential but we have to bring it every night.

"I put all of my stats on the side when the team losses. I'd rather have zero, zero and zero and the team wins. So hopefully the next game we can be aggressive, play harder on defense and the offense will come."

Harris, averaging 5.4 points over 73 career games, has scored 17.7 on 67.7 percent shooting in three contests with Orlando while wearing No. 12.

"I know that was Dwight Howard's old number, but that's the number that I chose," Harris said. "I know there are a lot of expectations with that number and I'm happy to take on those expectations."

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Rockets rally in 4th to outlast Magic, 118-110

By KYLE HIGHTOWERPosted Mar 01 2013 10:54PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) With their playoff hopes potentially hinging on each game down the stretch, the Houston Rockets can't afford to give away wins.

Thanks to what are becoming familiar late-game heroics by James Harden, those postseason prospects remain very much in sight.

Harden scored 24 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, as the Rockets rallied for a 118-110 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.

The Rockets stopped a two-game skid and ended a five-game losing streak to the Magic. Houston trailed by two late in the game, before using an 11-0 run to seize control. Chandler Parsons and Carlos Delfino each added 21 points.

"All these games are going to count, especially if we want to make the playoff push," Harden said. "We try not to (think about it), because we try not to get sidetracked by thinking about too many other things."

Tobias Harris scored a career-high 27 points to lead Orlando, followed by Arron Afflalo with 19 and Niklola Vucevic with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

It was just the latest disappointing finish for a Magic team that has dropped two in a row and 30 of their last 34.

"We went out there tonight and played a heck of a game, brought a lot of energy, and battled to the end of the game," Harris said. "It just shows that as a team we're making steps. ... If we can just keep building on this, I think that would be good for us."

For three quarters the Magic actually seemed like the crisper team on both ends, spurred by the play of the second-year Harris.

They took a one-point lead into a fourth quarter that saw the lead change throughout.

The Magic reached the century mark first at 100-98, before turnovers and bad possessions led the Rockets' spurt, which put them up 109-100 with 3:28 to play.

Harris finally answered with a basket, but Houston's Delfino responded with a 3-pointer on the other end to grow the lead to 112-102.

E'Twaun Moore hit a jumper to cut it to 112-107, and Orlando then got the ball back on a miss by Houston. But Afflalo stepped out of bounds on the ensuing possession - the Magic's 16th turnover of the night - and the Rockets were able to close it out at the free-throw line.

The Magic had eight turnovers in the first three quarters, but nine in the final 12 minutes.

They also lost despite shooting a season-high 56 percent (44 for 78) on the night.

The biggest contribution for the Rockets might have been from guard Patrick Beverley, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth, to go along with three steals.

Parsons said the next step in their playoff chase is improving defensively.

"We can score on anybody," he said. "We've got to put all our effort, all our energy and the defensive end. We've got to be able to win games when we don't score 100 points."

Harden (knee) and Jeremy Lin (ankle) were both game-time decisions Friday after sitting out the Rockets' practice on Thursday. Both started as scheduled, though, and were needed to keep up with an inspired Magic team offensively.

The Rockets shot 60 percent (24 for 40) in a fast-paced first half, including 11 3-pointers. But Orlando was just as strong at 55 percent (24 for 43) and trailed just 64-61 at halftime.

Parsons had 15 first-half points to lead the Rockets, with Nicholson and Harris each scoring 13 for the Magic.

Orlando also shared the ball with 20 assists and took care of the ball with only four turnovers.

That changed in the closing minutes, a recurring theme that Magic coach Jacque Vaughn also was high on the effort of Houston's Beverley.

"I think he came into the game and finished the stretch run for them," Vaughn said. "He hit key shots for them and, at the same time, was able to apply a little defensive pressure. I give a lot of credit to him and the fact that they were able to turn up the defense a little bit on us."

The Rockets return home to host Dallas on Sunday, hoping to keep their momentum alive.

Coach Kevin McHale said while it was nice to breakthrough with a victory, they still aren't playing like a team that is playoff bound by his standards.

"We don't have a great rhythm right now," he said. "We've been a team that's kind of start and stop...You already know we've got to hit the start button here again and get some rhythm going. If we can get a couple wins, get our practice in tomorrow and (can) hopefully start something good."

Notebook: Rockets 118, Magic 110

THE FACTS: Desperate to avoid an embarrassing defeat, the Houston Rockets forced nine turnovers in the fourth quarter and pulled away to a 118-110 victory over the Orlando Magic.

James Harden scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and Patrick Beverley came up with 10 points, two assists and three steals in the final period.

Beverley's 3-pointer opened a decisive 11-0 run late in the fourth quarter after the Rockets had fallen behind the Magic in a game they had to win to maintain their hold on the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Chandler Parsons and Carlos Delfino scored 21 points each for the Rockets, who made 11 3-pointers in the first half and 15 for the game.

Tobias scored a game-high 27 points in his fourth game with the Magic, and E'Twaun Moore had a career-high 11 assists.

QUOTABLE: "We got stops and got transition points. We got to the free throw line. It is all because of our defense. We score a lot of points, but the way we get out in transition is because of our defense."-- Harden on the Rockets' fourth-quarter surge.

THE STAT: It was only the seventh game of the NBA season in which both teams shot 54 percent or better. The Rockets shot .564 (44-for-78) and the Magic a season-high .545 (42-for-77).

TURNING POINT: The Magic led, 100-98, when Beverley got open for a 3-pointer with 4:35 left. He nailed it, and the Magic never led again.

QUOTABLE II: "We don't have a great rhythm right now. We've been a team that's kind of start and stop, start and stop, start and stop. . . . We've got to hit the start button again here and get some rhythm going."-- Rockets coach Kevin McHale

HOT: Harris is shooting 70 percent (32-for-46) in four games with Orlando.

QUOTABLE III: "I think this is the right situation for me to come out and play, to play my game and grow as a player."-- Harris

NOT:Arron Afflalo made only one shot and committed three of the Magic's nine turnovers in the fourth quarter.

GOOD MOVE: Beverley played the entire fourth quarter at point guard for Houston.

BAD MOVE: Not starting Harris in the next game, if for no other reason than to shake up a team with nothing to lose.

ROOKIE WATCH: Beverley was huge with 13 points, six assists and three steals in just 22 minutes. ... Donatas Motiejunas had a big first half for the Rockets. ... Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson, the Magic's starting forwards, combined for 30 points.

NO GOOD, GOOD, BUT NO GOOD: Late in the first half, Rockets center Omer Asik was awarded an extra free throw because the Magic's Andrew Nicholson stepped in the lane too soon to rebound a shot Asik missed. He made the ensuing shot, but it was nullified because Donatas Montejunas got in the lane too quickly for the Rockets.

NOTABLE: The Rockets lead the ninth-place Lakers by 2 1/2 games. ... Magic guard Jameer Nelson missed his fifth straight game with a knee injury. ... Harris averages 20 points and 7.3 rebounds in four games.